Family meal times are getting a lot of press right now, and high time. Recent articles in The Christian Science Monitor by Mary Beth McCauley and the New York Times by Susan Dominus as well as the Huffington Post’s on-going series “Family Dinner Table Talk” extoll the virtues of this time-honored (but oft neglected) family … Continue reading
Category Archives: Alternative Stories
children and media / Early Childhood / Gurdjieff / Healthy Media Choices / Interview / New Parents / Parents / Sensory Health / Teachers
Monday- From the Archives: Interview with Lillian Firestone on The Forgotten Language of Children
Welcome to Monday from the Archives: each Monday, something from the archives of Mary Rothschild: interviews, articles, insights. Today, the audio and transcript of an interview with author Lillian Firestone about her book The Forgotten Language of Children: A Journey in Living Authentically, originally aired on Brattleboro Community Radio in Vermont on October 18, 2011. … Continue reading
Lillian Firestone, Author of The Forgotten Language of Children
Link to transcript Excerpts from the book (not included in the transcript are read at the end of the recording The work described in The Forgotten Language Language of Children: A Journey in Living Authentically is based on the ideas of G. I. Gurdjieff, a teacher who appeared in Europe in the early 20th century … Continue reading
Screen-Free During Passover and Holy Week
Next week, April 18-24, is both Screen-Free Week, and a week that is sacred for both Jews and Christians. This convergence presents a unique opportunity for members of those faith communities, as well as others who perceive spring as an appropriate time for renewal, to go on a “technology and media fast,” to the extent that … Continue reading
Peggy Orenstein: What was (and was not) in “Cinderella Ate My Daughter”
Peggy Orenstein is gracious and open. In this transcript of my interview with her in late January, you’ll see that she does not stand above the fray. As a parent of a young child herself, she knows the pressures that are brought to bear by commercial interests and says that she didn’t realize how much … Continue reading
Rachel Prabhakar: Perpective from a Jewish-Hindu household
Here’s another story of a family where there are intentional alternatives to the popular culture. The world is not “media-saturated” for these children. In fact, Rachel Prabhakar , who lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two daughters, ages 10 and 7, says she hasn’t had a conversation with a parent about television in … Continue reading
Ozlem Parlak, Muslim parent
This interview is among those I’ve recorded that are categorized as “alternative stories,” meaning stories of families who have found ways to side-step popular culture, at least in their homes. We need these stories to offset the narrative of the “media-saturated world” and remind us that we do have some leverage. Ozlem Parlak, who is … Continue reading
Healthy Media Choices 